A moulding device for moulding three-dimensional products from a mass of foodstuff is known from WO2004002229. This moulding device comprises a moulding roller having a moulding surface containing several mould cavities for moulding the products from the foodstuff. The mould cavities are, for example, arranged next to one another in the moulding roller in rows in the axial direction of the moulding roller. Each mould cavity defines a mould cavity opening at the moulding surface.
During use, the mould cavities are filled with the foodstuff by a filling device which comprises a dispensing mouth. The moulding roller can be rotated about an axis of rotation by means of a drive device. During the driving motion, the mould cavities of the moulding roller and the dispensing mouth of the filling device move with respect to one another along a movement path. A pump displaces a volume of the foodstuff from the dispensing mouth when the mould cavities are in communication with the dispensing mouth.
The dispensing mouth and the mould cavity opening each comprise, viewed in the direction of the movement path, a front edge and a rear edge which is situated at a fixed distance thereof. The distance between the front edge and the rear edge of the dispensing mouth, viewed in the direction of the movement path, is smaller than the distance between the front edge and the rear edge of the mould cavity opening, viewed in said direction.
In use, the front edge of the mould cavity opening of the mould cavities to be filled moves towards the front edge of the dispensing mouth. When the front edge of the mould cavity opening is situated at a distance from the front edge of the dispensing mouth, the dispensing mouth and the mould cavity to be filled are not in communication with each other and no foodstuff can flow into said mould cavity. The front edge of the mould cavity opening approaches the front edge of the dispensing mouth until said front edges are aligned with respect to each other and the mould cavity opening and the dispensing mouth meet one another.
As soon as the front edge of the mould cavity opening and the front edge of the dispensing mouth start to overlap, a connection is made between the dispensing mouth and the mould cavity opening and foodstuff is transferred from the dispensing mouth into the mould cavity by the action of the pump. The dispensing mouth has a width, viewed in the direction transverse to the movement path, which is such that several mould cavities in one row can be filled simultaneously.
By means of this moulding device, it is possible to mould food products having a consistent shape, volume and weight at high speeds. However, it is difficult to control the speed with which the mould cavities are being filled with the foodstuff. This may result in internal differences in the moulded food products which affect the behaviour of the moulded food product during further processing in different ways, such as the shrinking behaviour during cooking, so that the shape of the cooked products is not consistent. When using this moulding device, there is therefore the risk of a number of undesirable deviations in the shape of the product during consumption.
If a substantially round shape for the cooked product is desired, the food products moulded by means of the moulding roller have an oval shape, which changes into a substantially round shape as a result of cooking. The mould cavity openings of the mould cavities of this moulding device are therefore oval in shape in order to give the cooked product a substantially round shape, even if undesirable deviations resulting from cooking are disregarded. However, from an aesthetic point of view, it is desirable, if the cooked product is to have a substantially round shape, for the moulded food products to be substantially round. Obviously, the substantially round food products also have to remain round after cooking.